Agenda and draft minutes

To receive apologies for absence and note substitutions.

Members who are unable to attend this meeting must submit apologies by the end of Tuesday 16^th January 2024 to enable a substitute to be arranged, if applicable.

Apologies were received from Cllrs Jane Austin and George Hesse.

Cllr Graham White attended the meeting remotely.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting of the Services Overview & Scrutiny Committee held on 21^st November 2023  and published on the Council’s website. 

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 21 November 2023 as published on the website were agreed as a correct record.

To receive from Members declarations of interests in relation to any items included on the agenda for this meeting, in accordance with Waverley’s Code of Local Government.

None were received for this meeting.

The Chairman to respond to any questions submitted by members of the public in accordance with Procedure Rule 10.

The deadline for submission of written questions for this meeting is 5pm on Tuesday 16 January 2024.

38.1     Two questions from members of the public were submitted to this meeting and published as supplements to the agenda.

38.2 The following response from the Monitoring Officer was given to the question asked by Mr Tim House:

•        All officers below Chief Executive are responsible to the Head of Paid Service rather than to Councillors;

•        The Head of Paid Service has not raised any concerns with the Chair of the O&S Committee about lack of political impartiality of any senior officers;

•        As part of the scrutiny function, the Council’s constitution allows for the Chair of the O&S Committee to call any senior officer to the committee to explain their performance in respect of any matter within their remit. The Chair of O&S has not felt the need to do so.

•        Should anyone have any concerns about the conduct or performance of any senior officer within the Council they should address their concerns to the Head of Paid Service through the usual complaint procedure via the website.

38.3     Questions from South Farnham Residents Association and Badshot Lea Community Association have been answered by the Executive Head of Planning Development. This written response be sent to the questioner by the Scrutiny Officer.

The Chairman to respond to any questions received from Members in accordance with Procedure Rule 11.

The deadline for submission of written questions for this meeting is 5pm on Tuesday 16 January 2024.

39.1     Three questions were submitted by Cllr David Munro and one by Cllr Jane Austin. The Chair clarified that these would be taken under item 8.

The Services Overview & Scrutiny Committee is responsible for managing the Committee’s work programme.

The current work programme (attached) includes items agreed and takes account of items identified on the latest Executive Forward Programme (Annexe 2) as due to come forward for decision.

Recommendation

Members are invited to consider their work programme and make any comments and/or amendments they consider necessary, including suggestions for any additional topics that the Committee may wish to add to its work programme.

40.1     The Committee noted the Forward Work Programme. The Chair referenced the fact that much of the Executive work at present was focussed on budgetary matters and encouraged members to suggest items for future consideration.

40.2     The Chair noted that The Surrey Environment Partnership had been raised by members and asked if the Interim Head of Service could be contacted to clarify a date.

Committee to agree the Chair’s nomination of Councillor David Munro to sit on a one-off funding assessment panel as part of the Thriving Communities Commissioning Fund. These funding arrangements were agreed by the Executive in Octoer 2021, and pertain to a scheme through which funding is allocated to not-for-profit organisations for delivery of specific services and activities in partnership from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2025.

41.1     The Committee agreed to the nomination of Cllr David Munro to sit on a one-off funding assessment panel as part of the Thriving Communities Commissioning Fund.

To receive a verbal update on the Safer Waverley Partnership.

42.1     The Executive Head of Community Services introduced the item and thanked Members for submitting their questions prior to the meeting, reminding the Committee that the Safer Waverley Partnership (SWP) involved a wide range of agencies and stakeholders that share responsibility for many of the operational issues. It was noted that officers could still raise issues and expect responses from these other agencies at the March meeting, where there will be a more detailed discussion of the Partnership.

42.2     The Community Services Manager addressed the written questions submitted by members. It was clarified that officers regularly emphasise the poor performance of the 101 reporting mechanism to Police colleagues.  Cllr Munro queried who should take responsibility for this issue and agreed to return to the issues again at the March meeting, when partners will be present to give a response. It was stated that reporting issues to partners was paramount for making them aware and most able to provide effective responses.

42.3     The Committee were informed that Neighbourhood Dispute Action Groups had now been disbanded after an unsuccessful pilot and will feature in the March report.

42.4     Officers advised that a Joint Health and Wellbeing Board had been established across Waverley and Guildford with a wide range of partners involved and encompassing two sub-groups - one for each borough.         

            The Committee requested that the Joint Health and Wellbeing Board be added to the Committee Forward Work Programme.

The Committee are to receive a presentation by the Regeneration and Planning Policy team to update members on the progress of the Economic Development Strategy.

43.3     The Economic Development Manager referenced events such as Brexit, the pandemic and cost of living crisis in explanation of the need to update the Strategy, and reminded the committee of the need to support businesses to endure the issues they face in recruitment and retention, among other areas. They noted that some of the work in this area would be addressed in parts of the new Local Plan.

43.4     The collaborative work with Guildford Borough Council and Addison Young was referenced to emphasise the quantitative and qualitative data collection that took place, alongside other partners such as the local Chambers of Commerce. Colleagues in Waverley’s Planning department were contacted, as were a range of external groups and stakeholders.

43.5     Cllr Crowe asked whether reviews of the council’s waste contract to explore emission reduction will include more opportunities for residents to pursue recycling. It was stated that this would be fed back to the Executive Head of Service and Director, as was a comment about the need to develop public transport.

43.6     Cllr Keen referred to the commercial spaces lost to housing development.

43.7     Accepting that there were still alterations to be made, non-voting member Cllr Hyman noted that the Strategy does not align with the years of the new Local Plan, contended that Waverley may not be able to afford to widely engage in Passivhaus retrofitting and thus advise others, and queried the home build costs of the Property Development Strategies.  He also raised what he felt were contradictions in the policies on congestion. The Executive Head of Regeneration and Planning Policy clarified that the Strategy’s 10-year time horizon was planned and that the document will be reviewed as appropriate.

43.8     Cllr Robini noted the difficulties of encouraging active travel and building the appropriate infrastructure in Haslemere, and asked how funding would be secured to make the necessary changes. The Joint Strategic Director of Place noted the that wide range and ambition of the strategy would help with securing relevant funding bids after partner organisations are invested and reiterated that active travel measures also fall under the Climate Change Action Plan. The Economic Development Manager referred to a recent trial change to the hopper service.

43.9     Cllr Munro asked about the impact that the Strategy will have on housing, that Woolmead’s issues be addressed in the document, that a review of congestion pinch points be included in the action plan. The Joint Strategic Director of Place noted the importance of planning to both the Local Plan and Economic Development Strategy and that housing policies form a large part of the Strategy – she also stated that there is work planned regarding Woolmead  and would confer with Cllr Munro about this, and that usage of the Invest To Save fund would be considered.

43.10   Cllr Busby asked if the Strategy should include reference to the value of existing amenities to the rural economy. The Joint Strategic Director of Place clarified that this would be considered under the Local Plan. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

This report outlines the requirement for an update to the 2019 Statement of Community Involvement (SCI). The SCI sets out how the Council will involve communities and other stakeholders in plan-making and development management.

Recommendation

That the Committee provides feedback on the draft SCI to enable a final draft to be prepared for public consultation.

44.1     The Interim Planning Policy Manager introduced the report. Cllr Robini queried how developers can be better collaborated with. The Executive Head of Planning Development detailed the comprehensive pre-application service offered and how developers are worked with, especially around strategic sites, noting that work is being undertaken with the Portfolio Holder to clarify this process for developers.

44.2     Cllr Munro asked if the BIDs are consulted on the document and referred to the statutory requirement to publish planning notices in newspapers. The Executive Head of Planning Development noted that this is still a legal requirement under a 1963 Act.

44.3     Non-voting member Cllr Hyman reiterated the importance of consulting with residents and asked if a document could be made available that demonstrates the differences from the 2019 version. Officers stated that they would endeavour to provide this document, and that the Commonplace engagement platform will be employed to consult with residents, while the Executive are enthusiastic for consultation to take place with young people.

44.4     The Chair referenced the increase in Neighbourhood Plans since the 2019 Statement, asked that Neighbourhood Plan groups are consulted with, and referenced problems arising from previous redefinition of sites as suitable for developments. She noted the importance of keeping the databases held by town and parish councils updated. The Interim Planning Policy Manager clarified that Neighbourhood Planning Groups are consulted and the Local Plan Executive Working Group is working on keeping databases current.

44.5     Cllr Busby mentioned difficulty that he has experienced following applications on the planning portal. The Executive Head of Planning Development stated that they would examine technical solutions to renotifying all parties upon updates to applications.

The Committee NOTED the report.

The Committee are to conduct a question-and-answer session with relevant officers on the topic of upcoming changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and its expected implications on planning and development in the borough.

45.1     The Interim Planning Policy Manager gave a presentation on changes to the NPPF introduced alongside the December 2023 ministerial statement.

45.2     Non-voting member Cllr Hyman emphasised the importance of delivering protections to residents, while Cllr White questioned whether there are plans for Neighbourhood Plans’ number of allowed Strategic Site classifications to be reduced from the current 100. The Interim Planning Policy Manager noted that this was being considered due to the necessity of demonstrating 5-year housing land supply.

To consider, if necessary, the following recommendation on the motion of the Chairman:

Recommendation

That pursuant to Procedure Rule 20 and in accordance with Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items on the grounds that it is likely in view of the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during the items there would be disclosure to them of exempt information (as defined by Section 100I of the Act) to be identified at the meeting.

There were no items to discuss in exempt session, so the Chair closed the meeting.